The Articles of Faith Part 26

(3.) _Sunday Schools_ comprise graded cla.s.ses for the study of the scriptures, and for training in theology, in moral and religious duties, and in the discipline of the Church. Sunday schools, while primarily designed for the young, are open to all.

(4.) _Church Schools._--These inst.i.tutions provide for both secular and religious instruction, and range from the grade of the kindergarten to that of the college.

(5.) _Religion Cla.s.ses._--In these is provided a course of graded instruction in theology and religion, which is offered as a supplement and complement to the purely secular teachings of the non-denominational schools.

(6.) _Relief Societies._--These are composed of women whose self-imposed duties relate to the care of the poor, and the relief of suffering among the afflicted.

=34.= Most of these auxiliary organizations exist in each ward.

Indeed, with the exception of Church Schools, which usually rank as stake inst.i.tutions, or even as of wider scope, all of the secondary organizations named are regarded as essential to the complete equipment of any ward. Officers are appointed to preside over the several organizations in each ward; and while such officers are subject in a general way to the local authorities in the priesthood, they look for specific instructions regarding the plan and method of their particular work, to the stake and general authorities of the special organizations. In accordance with the principle of common consent which characterizes the Church in general, the officers of the auxiliary inst.i.tutions, while they are nominated by, or at least with the consent of the established authorities in the priesthood, are installed and retained in office by the vote of the members in the local or general organization within which they are appointed to labor.

NOTES.

=1. Degeneracy of Worship Incident to the Apostasy.=--That, as the priesthood disappeared from the earth after the apostolic period, the forms of worship were perverted, while many pagan influences and practices crept in, may be reasonably inferred from the records of history. Mosheim, an authority of note in ecclesiastical history, has this to say regarding pagan innovations during the fourth century:--"The Christian bishops introduced, with but slight alterations, into the Christian worship, those rites and inst.i.tutions by which, formerly, the Greeks and Romans and other nations had manifested their piety and reverence towards their imaginary deities; supposing that the people would more readily embrace Christianity, if they saw that the rites handed down to them from their fathers still existed unchanged among the Christians, and perceived that Christ and the martyrs were worshiped in the same manner as formerly their G.o.ds were. There was, of course, little difference, in these times, between the public worship of the Christians and that of the Greeks and Romans. In both alike, there were splendid robes, mitres, tiaras, wax tapers, crosiers, processions, ill.u.s.trations, images, golden and silver vases, and numberless other things."

Of the form of professedly Christian worship in the fifth century, the same authority says:--"Public worship everywhere a.s.sumed a form more calculated for show and for the gratification of the eye. Various ornaments were added to the sacerdotal garments, in order to increase the veneration of the people for the clerical order.... In some places it was appointed that the praises of G.o.d should be sung perpetually night and day, the singers succeeding each other without interruption: as if the Supreme Being took pleasure in clamor and noise, and in the flatteries of men. The magnificence of the temples knew no bounds. Splendid images were placed in them; ... the image of the Virgin Mary holding her infant in her arms occupied the most conspicuous place."

=2. Early Beginning of the Apostasy.=--Orson Pratt, an apostle of the present age, has written as follows concerning the early falling away from the authorized practices of the Church:--"The great apostasy of the Christian church commenced in the first century, while there were yet inspired apostles and prophets in their midst; hence Paul, just previous to his martyrdom, enumerates a great number who had 'made shipwreck of their faith,' and 'turned aside into vain jangling,' teaching 'that the resurrection was already past;' giving 'heed to fables and endless genealogies;' 'doubting about questions and strifes of words whereof come envyings, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and dest.i.tute of the truth, supposing that gain is G.o.dliness.' This apostasy had become so general that Paul declares to Timothy 'that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me;' and again he says, 'at my first answer, no man stood with me, but all men forsook me;' he further states that 'there are many unruly, and vain talkers, deceivers,'

'teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.'

These apostates, no doubt, pretended to be very righteous, 'for,'

says the apostle, 'they profess that they know G.o.d, but in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.'"

=3. The Rule of the Priesthood.=--That the power of the Priesthood is to be exercised in the spirit of patience and love, and not in opposition to individual free agency, is apparent from many scriptures, among which is the following:--"Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen?

Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson--That the rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, or vain ambition, or to exercise control, or dominion, or compulsion, upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood, or the authority of that man.

Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the p.r.i.c.ks; to persecute the saints; and to fight against G.o.d. We have learned, by sad experience, that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men: as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence, many are called, but few are chosen. No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the Priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness, and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy and without guile; Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death. Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith; and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of G.o.d, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy sceptre an unchanging sceptre of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever."--Doc. and Cov. cxxi, 34-46.

LECTURE XII.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS.

=Article 7.=--We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, etc.

=1. Spiritual Gifts Characteristic of the Church.=--It has been already affirmed, that all men who would officiate with propriety in the ordinances of the Gospel must be commissioned for their exalted duties by the power and authority of heaven. When so divinely invested, these servants of the Lord will not be lacking in proofs of the Master's favor; for it has ever been characteristic of the dealings of G.o.d with His people, to manifest His power by the bestowal of a variety of enn.o.bling graces, which are properly called gifts of the Spirit. These are oft-times exhibited in a manner so different from the usual order of things as to be called miraculous and supernatural. In this way did the Lord make Himself known in the early times of scriptural history; and from the days of Adam until the present, prophets of G.o.d have generally been endowed with such power.

Whenever the priesthood has operated through an organized Church on the earth, the members of the flock have been strengthened in their faith, and otherwise blessed in numerous related ways, by the possession of these graces within the Church. We may safely regard the existence of these spiritual powers as one of the essential characteristics of the true Church; where they are not, the priesthood of G.o.d does not operate.

=2.= Mormon[656] solemnly declares that the days of miracles will not pa.s.s from the Church, as long as there shall be a man upon the earth to be saved; "For," says he, "it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore if these things have ceased, wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain." And Moroni, standing on the threshold of the grave, bears an independent testimony that the gifts and graces of the Spirit will never be done away as long as the world shall stand, except it be through the unbelief of mankind.[657]

[656] Moroni vii, 35-37.

[657] Moroni x, 19, 23-27.

=3.= Hear the words of this prophet addressed to those "who deny the revelations of G.o.d and say that they are done away, that there are no revelations nor prophecies, nor gifts, nor healing, nor speaking with tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Behold I say unto you, he that denieth these things knoweth not the Gospel of Christ; yea he has not read the scriptures; if so, he does not understand them. For do we not read that G.o.d is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing? And now, if ye have imagined up unto yourselves a G.o.d who doth vary, and in him there is shadow of changing, then have ye imagined up unto yourselves a G.o.d who is not a G.o.d of miracles. But behold, I will show unto you a G.o.d of miracles, even the G.o.d of Abraham, and the G.o.d of Isaac, and the G.o.d of Jacob; and it is that same G.o.d who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are."[658]

[658] Mormon ix, 7-11.

=4. Nature of Spiritual Gifts.=--The gifts here spoken of are essentially endowments of power and authority, through which the purposes of G.o.d are accomplished, sometimes with accompanying conditions that appear to be supernatural. By such the sick may be healed, malignant influences overcome, spirits of darkness subdued, the Saints, humble and weak, may proclaim their testimonies and otherwise utter praises unto G.o.d in new and strange tongues, and others may interpret these words; the feeble human intellect may be invigorated by the heavenly touch of spiritual vision and blessed dreams, to see and comprehend things ordinarily withheld from mortal senses; direct communication with the fountain of all wisdom may be established, and the revelations of the Divine will may be obtained.

=5.= These gifts have been promised of the Lord unto those who believe in His name;[659] they are to follow obedience to the requirements of the Gospel. Among believers, they are to serve for encouragement, and as incentives to higher communion with the Spirit.[660] They are not given as signs to gratify carnal curiosity; nor to satisfy a morbid craving for the wonderful. Men have been led to the light through manifestations of the miraculous; but events in the lives of these show that they are either such as would have found a knowledge of the truth in some other way, or they are but superficially affected, and as soon as the novelty of the new sensation has exhausted itself they wander again into the darkness from which they had for the time escaped. Miracles are not primarily intended, surely they are not needed, to prove the power of G.o.d; the simpler occurrences, the more ordinary works of creation do that. But unto the heart already softened and purified by the testimony of the truth, to the mind enlightened through the Spirit's power and conscious of obedient service in the requirements of the gospel, the voice of miracles comes with cheering tidings of a loving Parent's continued favor, with fresh and more abundant evidences of the magnanimity of an all-merciful G.o.d.[661]

[659] Mark xvi, 16; Doc. and Cov. lx.x.xiv, 64-73.

[660] Matt, xii, 38, 39; xvi, 1-4; Mark viii, 11, 12; Luke xi, 16-30.

[661] See Note 6.

=6.= Yet even to the unbeliever, the testimony of miracles should appeal, at least to the extent of argument favoring an investigation of the power through which these acts are wrought; in such cases miracles are as "a loud voice addressed to those who are hard of hearing." The purpose of spiritual gifts in the Church is explicitly set forth in a revelation from the Lord through Joseph Smith:--"Wherefore, beware lest ye be deceived; and that ye may not be deceived, seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given; For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do, that all may be benefited that seeketh or that asketh of me, that asketh and not for a sign that he may consume it upon his l.u.s.ts."[662]

[662] Doc. and Cov. xlvi, 8, 9.

=7. Miracles= are commonly regarded as supernatural occurrences, taking place in opposition to the laws of nature. Such a conception is plainly erroneous, for the laws of nature are inviolable. However, as human understanding of these laws is at best but imperfect, events strictly in accordance with natural law may appear contrary thereto.

The entire const.i.tution of nature is founded on system and order; the laws of nature, however, are graded as are the laws of man. The application of a higher law in any particular case does not destroy the efficacy or validity of an inferior one; the lower law is as fully applicable as before to the case for which it is framed. For example, society has enacted a law forbidding, on peril of heavy penalties, any man appropriating the property of another; yet oftentimes officers of the law forcibly seize the possessions of their fellow-men, against whom judgments may have been rendered; and such acts are done to satisfy, not to violate justice. Jehovah commanded "Thou shalt not kill," and mankind has re-enacted the law, prescribing penalties for violation thereof. Yet sacred history testifies, that, in certain cases, the Lawgiver Himself has directly commanded His servants to vindicate justice by taking human life. The judge who pa.s.ses the extreme sentence upon a convicted murderer, and the executioner who carries into effect that dread mandate, act not in opposition to "Thou shalt not kill," but actually in support of this decree.

=8.= With some of the principles upon which the powers of nature operate, we are in a degree acquainted; and in contemplating them we are no longer surprised, though deeper reflection may show that even the commonest occurrence is wonderful and strange. But any event beyond the ordinary is p.r.o.nounced miraculous, supernatural, if not indeed unnatural, and we are more or less awe-stricken by the same.[663] When the prophet Elisha caused the axe to float in the river,[664] he brought to his service, through the exercise of the authority of the priesthood, a power superior to that of gravity.

Without doubt, the iron was heavier than the water; yet by the operation of this higher force it was supported, suspended, or otherwise sustained at the surface, as if it were held there by a human hand, or rendered sufficiently buoyant by attached floaters.

[663] See Note 1.

[664] II Kings vi, 5-7.

=9.= Wine ordinarily consists of about four-fifths water, the rest being a variety of chemical compounds the elements of which are abundantly present in the air and soil. The ordinary method--what we term the natural method--of bringing these elements into proper combination is by planting the grape, then cultivating the vine till the fruit is ready to yield its juice in the press. But by the exercise of a power not within purely human reach, the Savior, at the marriage in Cana,[665] called those elements together, and brought about a chemical transformation within the water-pots of stone, resulting in the production of pure wine. So, too, when the mult.i.tudes were fed, under His priestly touch and authoritative blessing the bread and fishes increased in substance, as if the seasons of years had been consumed in their growth according to what we consider the natural order. In healing the leprous, the palsied, and the infirm, the disordered bodily parts were brought again into their normal and healthful state; the impurities operating as poisons in the tissues were removed by means more rapid and effectual than those which depend upon the action of drugs and medicine.

[665] John ii, 1-11. See "Miracles" in "Jesus the Christ," pp.

147, 151.

=10.= No earnest observer, no reasoning mind, can doubt the existence of intelligences and organisms which the senses of man do not reveal.

This world seems but the temporal embodiment of things spiritual. The Creator has told us that He formed all things spiritual before they were made temporal.[666] The flowers that flourish and die on earth are perhaps represented above by imperishable blossoms of transcendent beauty and entertaining fragrance. Man is shaped after the image of Deity; his mind, though darkened by custom and weakened by injurious habit, is still a fallen type of immortal thought and Divine reason; and though the s.p.a.ce separating the human and the Divine in thought, desire, and action, be as wide as that between sea and sky, for as the stars are above the earth so are the ways of G.o.d above those of man, yet we may affirm a strict a.n.a.logy between the spiritual and the temporal. When the eyes of Elisha's servant were opened, the man saw the hosts of heavenly warriors covering the mountains about Dothan,--footmen, hors.e.m.e.n, and chariots, armed for fight against the Syrians.[667] When Israel encompa.s.sed Jericho,[668] may we not believe that the Captain of the Lord's host[669] and his heavenly train were there, and that before their angelic powers, sustained by the faith and obedience of the mortal army, the walls were leveled?

[666] See Note, page 199.

[667] II Kings vi, 13-18.

[668] Josh. vi.

[669] Josh. v, 13, 14.

=11.= Some of the latest and highest achievements of man in the utilization of natural forces approach the conditions of spiritual operations. To count the ticking of a watch a hundred miles away; to speak in but an ordinary tone and be heard across the country; to signal from one hemisphere and be understood on the other though oceans roll and roar between; to bring the lightning into our homes and make it serve as fire and torch;--are not these miracles? The possibility of such would not have been received with credence before their actual accomplishment. The President of the Republic, sitting in his chair of state at the nation's capital, talks with all parts, even with the ends of this great country; and if the apparatus be in order, if operators and officials be true, he is rightly informed of every movement of importance anywhere in the land. The orbs of the universe are as truly connected by a system of inter-communication, surprisingly perfect in its action and adaptation. These and the other innumerable miracles of creation are accomplished in strict accordance with the laws of nature, which are the laws of G.o.d. But we must return to a further consideration of the specific manifestations of spiritual gifts within the Church.

=12. An Enumeration of the Gifts of the Spirit= cannot be made complete by man, so numerous, so extensive are the blessings of the Father for His children. Yet the more common of these spiritual manifestations have been specified by inspired scriptural writers, and by the sure word of revelation. Paul writing to the Corinthian Saints,[670] Moroni inditing his last appeal to the Lamanites,[671]

and the voice of the Lord directed to the people of His Church in this dispensation,[672] each names many of the great gifts of the Spirit.

From these scriptures, we learn that every man has received some gift from G.o.d; and in the great diversity of gifts all do not receive the same. "To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know the differences of administration.... And again it is given by the Holy Ghost to some to know the diversities of operations whether it be of G.o.d, that the manifestations of the Spirit may be given to every man to profit withal. And again, verily I say unto you, to some it is given by the Spirit of G.o.d, the word of wisdom; to another it is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise, and to have knowledge.

And again to some it is given to have faith to be healed; and to others it is given to have faith to heal. And again to some it is given the working of miracles, and to others it is given to prophesy, and to others the discerning of spirits. And again, it is given to some to speak with tongues; and to another it is given the interpretation of tongues; and all these gifts cometh from G.o.d for the benefit of the children of G.o.d."[673]

[670] I Cor. xii, 4-11.

[671] Moroni x, 7-19.